“Concordia Publishing House works for us now” is how I like to put it! While that is a bit tongue-in-cheek, it’s not completely false. In March, Lutherans For Life (LFL) accepted a proposal from Concordia Publishing House (CPH) in St. Louis to be our agent for housing and distributing our materials. The changeover occurred on March 29, 2010.
This came about as we started looking into more efficient ways to take and fulfill orders here at LFL. We researched various software and hardware packages and that eventually led us to CPH. CPH has a state of the art system and has won awards for its effectiveness and efficiency. We soon realized that it would not be prudent for us to purchase the equipment necessary to do what they do. But those conversations with CPH also led to mutual interest in exploring the opportunity of a partnership. That partnership has now been realized.
The best part of this arrangement is that LFL materials will be marketed in ways we would never be able to do on our own. We will have a prominent place on their website and eventually in their catalog. LFL materials will also be featured within the CPH site.
For example, when you click on “Bibles,” you will see the Bibles CPH has to offer as well as LFL’s GOD’S WORD for Life Bible! We are able to add flyers to the hundreds of orders they fill every day advertising our materials. When CPH displays at dozens of conferences and conventions each year, LFL materials will be part of that display. The list of marketing opportunities could go on. Plus, CPH will handle all invoicing and keep track of all inventories and report to us all sales and any new customers. We can then add these to our mailing list. This will free up LFL staff allowing us to concentrate on other vital aspects of our ministry.
The partnership is a big change for us at the Life Center but not so much for those who order our materials. Nothing about our materials will change. We have complete control over content and pricing. As I said, CPH “works for us now”!
To order, you can go directly to Concordia Publishing House.
You can also go through the Store on this website. On the Store page, you can check out our online Gift Shop and download our Life Resource Catalog.
To order by phone, call CPH at 800.325.3040 and order from our catalog using our item numbers. Although CPH Customer Service Reps will receive training regarding our materials, you can still call LFL at 888.364.5433 if you have questions or need advice about what to order or just want to visit with our friendly staff! If you decide what you want to order, we won’t make you hang up and call CPH. Through the wonders of cyberspace, we will place your order for you and it will be shipped from CPH.
We look forward to this continuing partnership with CPH. It is good stewardship of our resources and will provide a much greater market for our materials resulting in better and more efficient service to LFL leaders, members, and congregations.